


Sorry About the Whole "World Domination" Thing...

by commoner64



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: intense bromance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:36:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commoner64/pseuds/commoner64
Summary: Ral and Jace have a deep and meaningful conversation with each other while revealing secrets about their past.





	Sorry About the Whole "World Domination" Thing...

“Hey Ral, this is Jace. I’d like to speak to you about Tezzeret when you get the chance.”

The Izzet guildmaster had been sitting on his desk doing some paperwork when he heard the telepathic transmission from Jace. It was quite sudden, as they hadn’t spoken for a while. But Ral was willing to listen. After all, he had been assigned to assassinate Tezzeret by Niv-Mizzet himself. And Jace knew quite a bit about the man.

“Sure. I’m a bit busy right now, but I’m free this evening”, Ral thought back. 

“Great. Planeswalk to me in Dominaria. I’ll be there at around seven”, the telepath replied. 

“Sounds good.”

A few hours later, Ral tried to focus on Jace’s energy through the Blind Eternities and sure enough, he was there. A remote part of the countryside in Dominaria, away from the Dimir spies or other possible threats in Ravnica. He sat down next to Jace, on a hill overlooking a creek. 

“Glad you could make it. So about Tezzeret…” The telepath went on about Tezzeret’s possible weaknesses, what sort of a threat he could do. He put up an illusion of the cyborg, a nearby tree turning it into a hologram of the man’s body. “So on his right arm, if you look right at this joint you can see a weak point.” Jace pointed to the part where his elbow and shoulders met. “You could potentially hit here if you were quick enough to pull back or had some sort of projectile. However, it’s a bit risky since his robotic arm has incredibly good range.” 

Ral examined every inch of the hologram. Fascinated by the mechanisms. A million thoughts a minute were going through his head. Is this made from some sort of rare alloy? How do the fingers work? Could I salvage and study all this when everything was said and done? But only one of those thoughts managed to escape his lips. “How do you know all this?”

“I used to work for him. I’ve told you that before.” 

“Of course. You’re just a bit more… mechanically inclined than I once thought.”

Jace scoffed. “You pick up a thing or two learning from an artificer I guess.”

“Why exactly did you end up working for him in the first place?”

The mindmage seemed a bit hesitant. “It’s a long story.” 

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to open up any old wounds.” 

Jace shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I just don’t like going back to that time in my life.”

“I understand. We’ve all, you know.”

“Yeah.”

There short period of awkward silence between the two. Ral could see the wind rustling through the grass. The sky turned shades of orange and purple as the sun began to set. Wild birds flew to trees to roost, leaving only the sounds of the stream, the wind, and the occasional cricket. The guildmaster laid down in the grass, hands behind his head. He could’ve fallen asleep then and there. 

“Isn’t it uncomfortable to wear those gauntlets all the time?”

“I’d feel more uncomfortable if I was out in the open without any protection.” 

Jace stared at the creek, his expression unwavering. “I get how that feels. Having to watch your back all the time.”

Ral smirked. “Better than being backstabbed.” 

“You fail to see the irony in that.”

“What, did you literally get stabbed in the back or something?”

Another awkward pause. 

“One of Tezzeret’s soldiers.” 

“Holy shit, I had no idea...” Ral sat back up. 

“It’s over now, I just-.” 

“You what?”

Jace was still fixated at the creek. “This might sound a bit weird but, I envy you in a way.”

Ral scoffed. “Why’s that?”

“Because you never seem to get involved with people who, you know-” 

The guildmaster shrugged. “I mean, Nicol Bolas.”

“No I mean, remember when I first met you? You used to be so carefree.”

Ral started to chuckle. “You mean when I tried to kill you and take over Ravnica?”

Jace smirked. “Yeah, and you gave that monologue about how I was a selfish asshole and that planebound people are only pawns in your grand scheme.”

“Yeah. Sorry about the whole world domination thing. I was a complete asshole back then. I shouldn’t have interfered with you and Emmara.”

Jace brushed it off. “It’s fine, our relationship was a ticking timebomb anyways. And you’re a person that loves explosions.”

“Heh.”

“But I’m curious. What made you change from that, into the person you are today?”

What had changed for him? Ral really hadn’t really slowed down enough to think about it. A drastic change in demeanor never happens without some sort of driving factor behind it. Of course, he wasn’t much of a jerk when he was with Elias. But when things ended, Ral was never really the same. Of course, he had never mentioned Elias to Jace before, nor did he really want to. “Perhaps it’s because I realized what I was doing to others. I think everything that happened with Nicol Bolas is what did it for me. Do you ever suddenly- just realize that everything you’ve been doing has been a lie?”

“You mean an epiphany?”

“So that’s what they call it. But yeah. Maybe it’s because we’re polar opposites in a way.”

“How so?”

Ral sighed. “When I was younger, I wasn’t exactly- loyal. I’d have lovers in different planes and leave them for weeks on end. And I’d always lie to them about why I was gone for so long. Hell, I wasn’t even loyal to my own guild.” His expression softened a bit. “But you, you don’t take from people like I used to. You give. You give all your loyalty, all your love to the people you care about. I can see through your facade, Jace Beleren. You’re soft on the inside. You secretly want to be loved and admired.” That familiar villainous smirk on his face returned. “You want comfort, attention, validation… That’s why you invited me here in the first place! Well I’m here!” He reached out and hugged the telepath. 

Jace looked shocked. “How the hell did you know all that?”

Ral let go. “Do you know why my mind is unreadable?”

Jace actually made direct eye contact with someone for once. 

Ral had improvised another comically villainous dialogue. “Because I’m constantly analyzing things in my head. Every step I make is a series of complex calculations like some sort of unstoppable dynamo.”

“You’re acting like your old self again.” Jace smirked.

“I just hope you’re not returning to your’s again.”

Jace seemed confused. “What do you mean?”

Ral’s expression turned a bit more serious. “Why are you dating Vraska?”

“Because I love and trust her.”  
Ral sighed. “Well, she’s certainly not very trustworthy in my eyes. Neither was Liliana. I’m beginning to notice a pattern here.”

Jace could already tell what words were about to come out of Ral’s mouth. 

The electromancer continued. “Sure, both of them ‘only act like terrible people because someone else is controlling them’” He put up quotation marks with his fingers. “But their motivations for harming you don’t matter. Because you’re still getting harmed either way.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jace let out a sigh. “Liliana pretended to love me, she let me get tortured by Tezzeret’s men. Hell, she even used me for sex!” He shouted, his typical stoic, bland expression now replaced by one of raw emotion. “Vraska genuinely loves me. You know how I know? Because she never threatens me, she would never force me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with, she’s been there to protect me ever since she found me on Ixalan that fateful day. Near-death and amnesiac.” He sighed. “She brews tea for me and tells me she loves me. I- Feel genuinely loved for the first time in my life. No other ‘lovers’ have made me feel the way she does.” 

Ral didn’t know what to say. He felt terrible for saying all that. “I had no idea…”

Jace sighed. “You’re not the only person who thinks like that. Most of my friends say she’s bad news.”

“Well, you do have a bad track record with relationships.” The guildmaster let out a small, awkward chuckle. 

“Well you do too. You’re just the bad partner, not the other way around.”

He knew what Jace was talking about, that time he mentioned how he used to lie to people who cared about him. “I wasn’t always that way.”

Jace seemed a bit surprised. “What?”

“Yeah. Years ago, I had a partner named Elias.” The electromancer sighed. “God, I loved that man so much. I gave him all my love, I gave him everything he wanted. I even gave myself to him. And yet things still went south.”

“Damn,I’m sorry to hear about that…”

“Yeah! So that’s why I had commitment issues for years. That’s why I was terrified when I realized I wanted Tomik for more than just sex” Ral seemed a bit defensive. 

Jace almost smirked. “I never thought I’d hear you say that you’re terrified. And-” The telemancer paused for a moment, a bit reluctant to say whatever he was about to say. 

“If it makes you feel any better, Ral. I’m terrified too.”

Yet again, there was another period of silence between the two. The sun had already set below the horizon and day became night. Ral stared at the moon as stars twinkled in his peripheral vision. Stars were rarely ever seen with all the light pollution on Ravnica, so it was a nice novelty to see them every once in a while. In some planes there was no light pollution at all and he could see entire galaxies. And all that stargazing lead him to think about Tomik, who would never get to see other worlds, forever trapped on Ravnica. The thought of it broke his heart a little. Forever, how long is forever? The storm mage broke the silence. 

“Jace, do you think we’re going to die young?”

The mind mage stopped to think about that for a second. “In all honesty, I wouldn’t be shocked. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened to either of us.” He looked over at Ral. “Why do you ask?”

“Because at this point, I feel like Tomik is going to outlive me. Considering all the dangerous shit I constantly get myself into, I’m afraid I’m going to end up just like Gideon.”

“I get that.” Jace seemed ashamed of his fear as well. “Gideon died valiantly, but I’d never want to die like he did. As selfish as it may sound, I’d rather die of old age. Growing old with Vraska and feeling loved and safe to the very end. But who knows, things never really go my way.”

Ral sighed. “Maybe love changes your perception about death... I could never see myself living past thirty when I was younger. Seeing my mother die such a miserable death and all, it made me want to die in my prime. But then I got older and met Tomik and well, I wouldn’t mind becoming subject to some Orzhov life spells and living to be a few hundred if it meant living with him.”

Jace laid back down on the grass. “You’re not nearly as reckless as you were a couple years ago. That’s for sure.”

“Times change, Beleren. So do my priorities.

“Yeah…”

Now the field around the two were filled with lightning bugs. Dancing in the darkness like little stars that had come to bless the land below with their light and warmth. All those stars made him feel small in the grand scheme of things, just like how he felt before becoming guildmaster. And here he was, sitting next to the man who once made him feel even smaller. The source of his burning jealousy for many years, now a trusted friend. Hopefully the rest of eternity could be just as pleasant and fulfilling.

He could only hope.


End file.
